Trade union federation COSATU says the ongoing fuel price increases will only plunge consumers into further financial and literal darkness.

The union is calling on government to urgently intervene, on behalf of workers and poor households. Embattled citizens are already battling to keep the lights on, amid the increased repo rate, higher food prices, the looming electricity tariff increase, and other cost of living crises.

Petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin all saw an uptick in pricing this week.

Both grades of petrol climbed by 28 cents a litre on Wednesday. The cost of diesel ascended by between less than a cent and 9 cents a litre. Illuminating paraffin hiked by 58 cents a litre.

COSATU spokesperson Sizwe Pamla says these higher fuel prices drain the purchasing power of most South Africans and retard economic recovery. He adds it is in the best interest of government to find a workable solution to this ever-present challenge.

“This is really going to leave many workers, and their families struggling. We have many workers earning the medium wage, which means those workers will struggle to clothe and feed themselves, and their families. Workers and consumers and small to medium enterprises, and the economy itself are still struggling to recover from covid-19.”

 

This also comes as the nation is grappling with stages 5 and 6 rolling power cuts.

“It is totally unacceptable that the price of fuel is still allowed to continue to increase despite COSATU’s proposal for a fuel price cap. It is also unacceptable that government has done very little to fix the price of electricity going up, at a time when workers and consumers in general are paying for a service they are not getting.”

 

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